Corona Devotionals

All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.  ( 6)  He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.  ~Revelation 1:5-6 ~~~ As we look to the cross and enter the Lenten season (forty days prior to Easter and Resurrection Sunday), God welcomes us with His Word...and His Truth.  Sometimes people wonder what "Lent" is about and...simply-put, it is a season where some take their faith one step more seriously, as we walk toward Good Friday and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by dying on the cross on that day.  Lent recognizes Christ's holy sin-payment and asks us, "How will we respond?" Lent (and Jesus) don't stop there.  Good Friday occurred for us, but three days later Resurrection Sunday also  occurred for us, defeating satan and death.   Victory over death, over sin, over darkness and over our temporary earthly existence: that's what th...

At times, we may have seen some not-so-good  things come out of the woodwork, such as bugs or even rodents.  In these cases, "coming out of the woodwork",  wasn't a good thing.    But the other day, I had the opposite experience, and I had good things...great things , and  great people  come out of the woodwork.  Our school held a huge weekend event with thousands of people in attendance.  We knew it would be large, and our committee had planned, organized, and prepared in every way that we could prior to the day of the event.   We were ready , except we did not have enough volunteers.   Multiple pleas for help were requested over multiple mediums, from email to facebook and I even asked a few people point-blank in person.  But, it was surprising how little help we had.  Even the night before, we were still sparse on staffing for this big event. But  when the event day came:  God filled in the gaps with...

I am from Ohio, and all-year-round, we can see (and hear) Canadian geese flying and honking in our skies and swimming across our lakes.  And while they are majestic and uniquely-colored birds, they are also commonplace fowl for us.  I enjoy seeing Canadian geese, and I am grateful for them as one of God's creations, but due to their familiarity within our area, they are nothing special to me ( Sorry , Canadian geese). But today I saw the body-form and wing-flap of a Canadian goose, but feathered in angelic white.  Similar fowl,  but different feather-dye.   A pair of Trumpeter Swans were gliding through the blue sky like bird-angels delivering a messag e: Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;  ( 5)  and from Jesus Christ.  ~Revelation 1:4-5 Grace and peace to you today, my friends, and  grace and peace to  me today too.   From...

Have we been letting-things-slip?   Have the days gotten busy or the schedule harried...and pretty soon we are doing just what it takes to get by?  Or "whatever" it takes to get by? Brothers and Sisters --God has more for us, and today is a good day to "reset" and to be reminded of the beautiful and weighty ( salt and light ) call that the Lord has upon our lives as His children.   "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  (14) "You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  (16) In the same way, let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  ~M atthew 5:13–16 I like t...

As pressure and stress bear down on me,  I find joy in your commands. ( 144)  Your laws are always right;  help me to understand them so I may live.  ~Psalm 119:143-144   I woke up today with this verse running through my mind like a freight train charging down its track.  There were a million other things/tasks/to-do's running through my mind like wild rabbits, but Your Word  rose above the din and pulled me to You, Father.  Are we running crazy today? Pull back, if even for a moment, and spend a beautiful minute with the (only) One who stills our chaos and provides our peace: our Heavenly Father. As pressure and stress bear down on me,  I find joy in your commands.  ( 144)  Your laws are always right;  help me to understand them so I may live.  ~Psalm 119:143-144   We so want to live today, Lord, but (far more) than merely exist...we want to LIVE(!) for You, in the fullness of life that You have promised t...

Everyone talks about the book of Revelation .  What does it mean?  How should we interpret it?  Some pastors are afraid to preach about it.  Other pastors are fixated on the teaching of it.   As with anything intimidating, overwhelming, or unknown: a good place to start is not in the middle, or with a zoomed-out overview.   But instead at the very beginning.  What does God say about the book of Revelation ?  What is the point and what is the purpose?  People try to answer that question.  And pastors and priests try to answer that question, too. But let's start in the first verses and hear how God explains the content within the book of Revelation . If we're interested in learning about Revelation , I think this would be a good place to start. And I also think that is why God begins the book of Revelation with these verses... To give us an understanding and a foundation of where we begin with the book and where we are headed wi...